Researchers Race to Unravel Mystery of Secret ‘Alien Signal’ Hidden for a Year

Scientists train telescopes on distant star which could be home to advanced alien civilization

Some of the world's top alien hunters have stepped in to try and solve the mystery of an "alien signal" that was spotted last year but only revealed in the past week.

Stargazers involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) have trained their telescopes on a star called HD 164595, which appears to be the source of the unexplained signal.

This distant star looks a lot like our own and has at least one planet orbiting around it, prompting speculation that an advanced alien civilisation could be trying to contact us.

Russian astronomers picked up the signal more than a year ago and failed to tell the rest of the world about their astonishing discovery.

This unusual decision has prompted UFO spotters to claim there's been a cover up led by politicians who don't want the world to know about the existence of aliens.

Douglas Vakoch is president of METI International, a scientific group dedicated to searching for extraterrestrial life.

He told CNN the detection of a powerful signal means there is "a good possibility for some nearby civilisation to be detected".

"The signal from HD 164595 is intriguing, because it comes from the vicinity of a sun-like star, and if it's artificial, its strength is great enough that it was clearly made by a civilisation with capabilities beyond those of humankind," he added.

The signal is extremely powerful, which could mean it was sent by aliens using technology which makes humanity's comparatively primitive communications devices look as primitive as yoghurt pots connected with string.

Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, said the signal would have to be sent by an extremely powerful transmitter which would use up "hundreds of times more energy than all the sunlight falling on Earth, and would obviously require power sources far beyond any we have".

This "requires an effort far, far beyond what we ourselves could do, and it’s hard to understand why anyone would want to target our solar system with a strong signal," he added.

"This star system is so far away they won’t have yet picked up any TV or radar that would tell them that we’re here."

Sadly, the alien hunter does not appear to believe that the signals were sent by aliens.

He added: "There are many other plausible explanations for this claimed transmission – including terrestrial interference. "Without a confirmation of this signal, we can only say that it’s 'interesting'."

Of course, boring old science alone isn't enough to dampen the imagination of the hordes of conspiracy theorists and alien hunters who congregate online.

Scott C Waring, one of the world's most prominent UFO spotters, suggested the signal had been covered up.

He said: "Why so late to tell the public?

"It is well know that [astronomers] often hide the alien signals they discover and can only release such information with  the consent of the US President.

"I guess this is part of their trickle down theory. Little by little, let the public know what's out there."